ABSTRACT
As Israel became embedded as an historical people involved with political and economic realities, it became more secularized, and the YHWH–earth tension grew. With the destruction of the First Temple and the Babylonian exile, the communal covenant with YHWH was lost. With the establishment of the Second Temple and the legal–priestly tradition emphasizing cultural form, the theocratic principle fell to the individual. As the earth became more remote and dangerous, the divinity was perceived as retreating and prophecy officially ended. To compensate, prophecy was projected to the end of days, and apocalyptic perspectives, the vision of what is at work behind the visible world, became more prevalent. The idea of the messiah emerged as the son of man that is a unifying symbol and also the transcendent function reconciling the heaven–earth opposition. The author gives a clear interpretation of the psychological eschatology behind this significant compensatory shift. The chapter also compares apocalypse with alchemy, the difference between a collective and individual movement, and the development of Christianity. As YHWH controls time, present time, and future time, rebirth comes at the end of time, when the earth–heaven opposition returns to balance and creation is restored.
